Longmont cat, missing for two years, reunited with owner

LONGMONT -- More than two years ago, Smaug, a black and white cat with an independent streak, went missing from his Longmont home.

On Wednesday afternoon, he was reunited with his owner.

"Oh my God, look how big you are," said Melissa Park to the meowing cat inside a kennel at the Longmont Humane Society.

The Longmont Humane Society offers microchipping services at the Well Pet Clinic, 230 S. Main St., Longmont. Cost is $35. Call 303-651-0610 for more information and to scheduled an appointment.

Smaug -- named after the dragon from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" -- had always had a touch of wanderlust. He once spent an entire summer outside, said Park, 42, who drove to Longmont from Minneapolis to pick up the long-lost cat.

Smaug, who went missing more than two years ago, was picked up by his owner Melissa Park at the Longmont Humane Society on Wednesday, Nov. 28.
(
Greg Lindstrom
)

Park found the cat, then a feral kitten, in 2006 while hiking a trail to Fragrance Lake Trail in Chuckanut, Wash. She and her now ex-husband affectionately referred to the adventurous kitty as TDC, or That Damn Cat.

A microchip her ex had implanted between Smaug's shoulder blades helped Longmont Humane Society staff track down Park and her ex after a Longmont couple brought the cat to the shelter on Monday.

"When he came to us, he seemed quite well-cared for," said Mallory Hochwender, the humane society's client care team lead.

Despite living outside for two years, the cat appeared well-fed and healthy. Humane society staff believe a number of cat-lovers fed and cared for Smaug during his travels. Especially for cats, which tend to wriggle out of collars and roam outside, a microchip implant is crucial, Hochwender said.

"Microchipping is a fail-safe way to make sure your animals come home," she said.

In Smaug's case, Melissa's ex kept the contact information on the microchip updated over the years, which helped humane society staff track down the couple.

Park and her husband divorced in 2009, and he moved to Longmont for work, bringing the cat with him. When Smaug went missing in early 2010, the couple assumed their fearless cat encountered a new kind of predator and was a goner. When Park's ex eventually moved back to Seattle, he left without a cat.

Earlier this week, while hiking along the Mississippi River in Minnesota, Park received a call from the Longmont Humane Society about her cat. Her ex, Chuck Park, is a software engineer in Seattle and got the same call. The couple decided that Melissa would pick up Smaug and drive the cat to her ex-husband's home in Seattle. The cat will either live there or come stay with her in Bellingham, which is about 100 miles north, said Park, who bought a blue carrier, cat food and a few toys for the two-day drive.

Wednesday's reunion was cautious. It had been several years since Park had seen the cat, and she wasn't sure of the reception she would get. Smaug seems a little aloof, though he did allow himself to be briefly picked up and snuggled.

"I just wish he could talk," Park said.

Park describes her lifestyle as transient. She did a month-long yoga teacher training in India earlier this year and recently completed a six-month hike along the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada.

In that respect, Smaug is her kindred spirit.

"We're fierce, and we're independent, and we can't be caged, and we want to roam when it's nice outside," she said.

Over the years, she considered getting another cat, but she held off.

"I have wanted a cat," she said. "I just didn't want a cat. I wanted my cat."

Melissa Park hugs her cat, Smaug, who went missing more than two years ago, while picking him up at the Longmont Humane Society on Wednesday, Nov. 28. Earlier this week, a Longmont couple brought the cat to the Longmont Humane Society. Staff were able to scan Smaug's microchip and reunite the cat with his owners. Park said she plans to drive the cat to her now ex-husband's home in Seattle, where the cat will likely live.
(Greg Lindstrom/Times-Call)

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